WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Martial Genius who Remembers Everything ◈
Chapter 302: The Black Flame Dragon Shows Himself (6)
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Sun Tzu's Art of War says that a victorious army secures victory before it begins a war.
I loved that saying, but I'd never thought it was a theory that could be applied in reality.
After all, the idiots in the Martial Alliance had never managed to put it into practice.
But...
‘Wow. So it really can be done.’
Honestly, I couldn't help admiring the stage the Eunha Merchant Group had set.
It no longer mattered how earnestly they had invited me, by what methods, or how many times they had done it.
At the martial artist's call, people entered the inner hall one after another, respectfully offered their greetings, and presented gifts.
Then the merchant group leader accepted the gifts and offered a few auspicious words.
Those who received his words bowed repeatedly as though they had heard precious words of wisdom. Some even shed tears.
Then, when it was time for the next person, the martial artist called another name.
The setting itself created authority.
It made the merchant group leader look like an emperor.
Those seated around him and those waiting in the banquet hall alike all accepted it as natural.
“Fallen Star Sword Yeo Mungak of Guizhou Province, come forward.”
Once the merchant group officials had finished, it became the martial artists' turn.
“Congratulations on the Eunha Merchant Group's one hundred eightieth anniversary. I was unable to prepare a gift worthy of the Eunha Merchant Group. May I offer my humble skill in its place?”
“Ho ho. The Fallen Star Sword's name rings far beyond Guizhou Province, even reaching this place. How could you call yourself humble?”
“Thank you for saying so.”
The martial artist gave a light bow, then began a sword dance in time with the music played by the female entertainers.
Some within the Eunha Merchant Group also displayed their skills, and a few even demonstrated the merchant group's unique martial arts.
I didn't think martial artists had to pretend to be detached sages, but willingly making themselves into spectacles like playthings was humiliating enough to cross the line.
“Brother Jin.”
I turned and saw Wang Soso looking at me with a grave expression.
“Let's leave right now. This... this isn't respectful to the people who came here.”
Wang Soso shifted as though she might leap up at any moment, unable to hide her anger.
When I looked away from her and surveyed the room...
‘Hmm.’
A few martial artists caught my eye.
They weren't elites of the Nine Sects One Gang, but they had decent reputations. Some were highly respected lay disciples.
Among them, I saw people who couldn't hide their flustered expressions.
‘Were they invited here like me?’
Despite their slightly furrowed brows, no one immediately rose and stormed out.
Instead, when the martial artist called their names, they eventually let out quiet sighs and acted just as those before them had.
They knew that causing a disturbance here wouldn't expose the other side's rudeness. It would only bring a backlash that damaged their own reputations.
And if they had business ties with the Eunha Merchant Group, as I did, their actions would naturally be even more restricted.
“Brother!”
I took Wang Soso's hand as she grabbed and shook my arm again, then patted the back of her hand twice.
“If we storm out now, we'll be doing exactly what they want.”
“Then... I'll go with you.”
I shook my head.
“Don't worry. I have a plan.”
Quietly and slowly, I began examining the layout of the banquet hall and inner hall.
#
I had been curious about the merchant group leader, after all.
After causing such a scene at the entrance, I'd deliberately continued making trouble at the annex.
I'd assumed that, by now, the merchant group leader would summon me.
And once I met him, I'd learn what kind of man he was.
Yet my expectations were spectacularly wrong.
He neither called for me nor gave me a warning.
It was as though someone like me wasn't even worth his attention.
And this wasn't a place where martial artists were politely invited to demonstrate their martial arts.
‘He set up a stage where people sell their skills like wandering performers...’
He was quite clever.
No matter what I said about the Eunha Merchant Group outside this place, people would think I'd sold my talents to them and received scraps in return.
“Next...”
The martial artist looked over the list, then flinched and stopped.
He turned toward me.
“N-Next is Young Hero Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect in Anhui Province.”
I rose from my seat.
Then, like those before me, I entered the inner hall.
When I stood in the center, those seated to the left and right watched me with haughty expressions.
The merchant group leader and Jeong Sogun waited for me to speak first.
“Was the Black Flame Dragon mute?”
At the comment from someone seated on the left, everyone in the inner hall began snickering.
“Maybe he's using the Mind-Reading Art.”
“Ah! Isn't he called the Black Maitreya in the Black Path martial world?”
“You'd better be careful, too. He might expose every hidden concubine you have.”
“Ha ha ha ha!”
The contempt and mockery from those around me didn't feel unfamiliar.
‘Well, when I was cleaning up after Gye Cheolyeong, I went through this countless times.’
Back then, I'd suffered this kind of humiliation over and over from the disciples and scions of the Nine Sects One Gang and the Five Great Clans.
Insults toward my parents, sneers at my sect, and the helplessness of being unable to respond.
Anger that couldn't be directed at an enemy turned inward and killed you.
Because I had no strength.
Because I couldn't stand against them.
“Congratulations from the bottom of my heart on the Eunha Merchant Group's one hundred eightieth anniversary.”
I stood straight and gave a cupped-fist salute.
Apparently displeased by that, someone on the right added, “Are you only going to offer congratulations with words? Why did you come empty-handed?”
“Hey, now. What kind of great sect is the Taeul Sect that it could prepare a gift? Even if it did, could it possibly satisfy the merchant group leader? Ha ha!”
“That is true. Hey, Black Flame Dragon, why don't you perform a little trick like the others before you leave?”
They probably knew.
They knew I'd choose to endure a humiliating display if it meant gaining major benefits through the Eunha Merchant Group.
That was why they could wag their tongues so freely.
In my previous life, I would've accepted whatever humiliation they forced on me in a place like this.
But I'd learned one thing through that life.
No matter how great the profit, you should never become a pushover.
Responding to every insult with an idiotic smile did nothing but diminish the respect I could receive.
So, if I wanted to build a friendly relationship, I had to show them that I wasn't someone they could take lightly.
“That is correct. Although the Taeul Sect's usual two meals a day have become three, we still face many difficulties. That is why we need the Eunha Merchant Group's assistance.”
The people who had looked stunned by my honesty suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Kuahaha!”
“Ha ha ha ha!”
“Puhahaha!”
Did their laughter come from thinking I'd finally submitted? Or could they simply not hold back at the fact that the Taeul Sect had once barely eaten two meals a day?
The merchant group leader in the seat of highest honor silently drank from his cup, while Jeong Sogun smiled smugly.
Was Jeong Sogun so pleased to see my once-arrogant behavior become suddenly mild?
“I can't compare to the outstanding martial artists before me, but may I offer the small skill I possess as my gift?”
The laughter quickly died down, and everyone's attention turned to the merchant group leader.
Without saying a word, he simply nodded.
Shing.
I slowly drew Silent Radiance and began displaying the Greater Heaven Sword Art.
Swish, swish.
Since it was a sword art performed without internal energy, it was slow, and no illusion swords appeared.
Unlike the martial artists before me, my slow sword paths quickly bored those whose expectations had been raised by the earlier displays.
“I thought the Academy's top student had regained some remarkable martial art... Tsk, apparently not.”
“If someone with that level of skill can enter the Martial Arts Academy, I should've sent my son there.”
“Don't you know? Isn't the Black Flame Dragon the one who entered the Academy with help from the Black Path? Heh heh.”
Criticism sprang up from every direction, and I matched it by displaying clumsy movements.
Slice.
I cut off one side of a table, then deliberately stopped dead.
Afterward, I looked around like someone unable to hide his panic.
“Good grief... We asked you to show us a little skill, and you're cutting up the Eunha Merchant Group's property.”
I hurriedly acted like an idiot.
“S-Sorry. It's my first time performing in a place like this... I'll show you again.”
Crash!
This time, pretending it was another mistake, I cut through a table and the plates full of food.
“Hey! This damn bastard...!”
“What kind of martial artist swings a sword like that?!”
Amid the sharp accusations of those scowling at the food that had splattered on them, I bowed my head deeply.
“S-Sorry. It's my first time controlling my strength...”
“Controlling your strength?”
Jeong Sogun's displeased voice came from above me.
“Are you saying you can't show your true skill?”
“Well... There are many people here who aren't martial artists. And even if you are martial artists, it may be difficult for you to endure...”
“Hah...”
Jeong Sogun let out an incredulous sigh, perhaps because he thought I was insulting him.
“Did you think the people here would be shocked just from watching a martial artist's swordsmanship?”
“Aren't you?”
When I tilted my head like an innocent idiot, Jeong Sogun trembled.
“You dare look down on us?”
As Jeong Sogun ground his teeth, the merchant group leader raised a hand to stop him.
Then, for the first time, he spoke.
“Having come all this way, it would be foolish not to show your true ability. Young Hero Jin, show us everything you have.”
He arrogantly gestured with his chin as though daring me to do it.
The guards standing behind him immediately pressed close and surrounded him.
‘So he expected me to release killing intent, at least.’
Killing intent was one of the threats martial artists commonly used against ordinary people. It wasn't something a hardened old man like him would fail to anticipate.
Well, I'd gotten the answer I wanted.
Hmm. It would be better to make certain one more time.
“A-Are you sure... i-is it all right if I show everything?”
“...Do so.”
As though making everyone present my witnesses, I deliberately swept my gaze around the room once.
“Then I'll show you all I can.”
I sheathed the Scarlet Radiance Sword, then slowly drew it again.
Unlike before, its red light shone clearly. Even those who had looked away began focusing on me one by one.
When I drew up killing intent with my will, it felt as though agonized screams rang beside my ears.
Aaaaaah!
Perhaps everyone else felt it too. Their laughter vanished, and they began to tense up.
“This... is the true Greater Heaven Sword Art of the Taeul Sect.”
Shrrrrrk.
The sword blades spread outward in all directions like the ribs of a folding fan.
Starting with the narrow space that had been like a flower bud, I gradually expanded the sword blades into a wider area.
When the blades began approaching within arm's reach of the people...
Shwaa!
I changed the art once more and scattered illusion swords wildly in every direction.
Then I added the Lesser Heaven Sword Art, beginning to slice apart the tables and food.
Slice.
Slice.
“W-What is this?!”
“W-Wait!”
As the people who had kept their mouths tightly shut under the pressure of my killing intent began staring in shock, their guards came forward to protect their masters, just as the merchant group leader's guards had.
It was pointless, though.
I began increasing the intensity of my killing intent in earnest.
Killing intent strong enough to make me tense even when the Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers used qi circulation.
The coarse, vicious killing intent scattered by the demonic beings of the Demonic Cult.
“Guhhh!”
“Bleurgh!”
“S-Stop!”
As my first apparent mistakes connected with these deliberate ones, the illusion swords passing around the spectators' necks and heads became a perfect threat.
Jeong Sogun could probably distinguish an illusion sword from a real sword, but how could people who had spent their lives reading books tell the difference?
Shrrrrrrk!
I raised my killing intent further and displayed the illusion swords even more boldly.
I didn't forget to cut through tables, dishes, and wine cups now and then.
This was an inner hall enclosed on all sides.
There was nowhere for the killing intent I released to escape.
The people couldn't move, trapped in fear that their necks would be cut the moment they shifted even an inch in this cramped space.
The guards trying to protect their masters were no different.
“U-Ugh... P-Please!”
“S-Stop! Stop!”
“S-Save me!”
When their cries filled the room, I withdrew the Greater Heaven Sword Art I had spread out.
Click.
As the Scarlet Radiance Sword returned to its sheath, people finally released the breaths they had been holding.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
“Kuhk!”
Some even collapsed onto the floor, their minds still reeling.
I scratched the back of my head with the most harmless expression I could manage.
“Oh, dear... I thought I was controlling my strength. Was it still too much?”
Moisture spread beneath the tables to the left and right, along with the smell of urine.
I covered my nose.
“Sowwy. I didn't know such gweat people would be so fainthearted...”
I slowly walked toward the merchant group leader.
Then, looking at the puddle of urine he had left on the floor, I picked up a wine cup.
Out of courtesy, I lowered the hand that had been covering my nose.
“I showed you my skill, so you'll at least offer me a drink, right?”
“...”
The merchant group leader trembled, apparently furious beyond words.
Unable to endure any longer, Jeong Sogun slammed his hand down on the table.
Bang!
“You dare do this here?!”
I opened my eyes wide and tilted my head.
“You asked me to show my skill, and I showed it... Did I do something wrong?”
I wore an expression as though I genuinely had no idea.
Honestly, it was your fault for being overwhelmed by killing intent and failing to stop me.
“Ah... Of course, I apologize for overestimating all of you because you're such distinguished people. But that wasn't entirely my fault, was it?”
After giving Jeong Sogun a faint, mocking smile, I held the wine cup before the merchant group leader's face.
“You'll pour me one, right?”
“...”
“H-How dare you...! Bring me my spear!!!”
I stared steadily at Jeong Sogun.
“Senior... Please don't ruin the mood at such a fine gathering.”
“What are you all doing?! I said bring my spear at once!”
A martial artist rushed over and handed him a silver spear.
Jeong Sogun snatched it and growled.
“Today, I'll teach you that there is always a heaven above heaven!”
Gripping the Eunha Spear wrapped in golden thread, Jeong Sogun kicked off the floor, leaped over the table, and charged at me.
Holding a wine cup in one hand, I drew the Scarlet Radiance Sword with the other and blocked the spear strikes he unleashed.
The Eunha Spear thrust at my vital acupoints in an instant, filled with killing intent.
Clangclangclangclang!
After blocking the spear strikes and stepping back, I spoke to Jeong Sogun.
“Senior Jeong, I'll tell you one last time. Stop.”
“Shut up! Did you think you could do this in the Eunha Merchant Group and leave alive?!”
I twisted aside from the spearhead thrusting at my chest and slipped into his guard at the same time, striking his vital acupoint with the hilt of the Scarlet Radiance Sword.
Jeong Sogun immediately pulled back, stepped on a table, and leaped into the air before plunging down like a meteor.
Thunderclap Meteor, the ultimate technique of Meteor Spear Jeong Sogun.
He soared all the way to the ceiling, then poured down blue spear qi that sealed every opening in all directions.
Papapapapak!
Normally, dodging was the best option against this.
Instead, I poured internal energy into the Scarlet Radiance Sword.
When showing someone your power, you needed to overwhelm them, even if it meant pushing yourself.
Hummm.
Instead of the crimson radiance infused with killing intent, golden radiance flickered as it formed sword force.
The sword force I created shattered every bit of spear qi raining down without leaving a single gap.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boomboomboom!
Jeong Sogun saw his spear qi shatter helplessly and quickly tried to summon spear force.
‘That's why, if you were going to make a move, you should've done it decisively.’
The Scarlet Radiance Sword had already crossed his chest.
Shhk!
His chest should have been stained crimson with blood, but only his clothes were shredded to pieces.
Jeong Sogun's body, which had rushed at me like an arrow, slammed into the wall even faster than it had come.
Crash!
“Kuhk...”
The impact was so great that he lost consciousness immediately.
I casually rested the Scarlet Radiance Sword on my shoulder and addressed the room.
“Senior Jeong gave his junior great help in making me shine. Everyone, give him a round of applause.”
“...”
Yet the inner hall remained silent.
Hmm, had they not heard me?
I raised my will and summoned killing intent.
Then...
“Eek!”
“Kuhk!”
“T-That lunatic again...!”
The officials looked as though they were about to roll back their eyes and faint.
I smiled warmly at them.
“Everyone. I said give him a round of applause. Is that difficult? Wouldn't Senior Jeong Sogun be embarrassed?”
Clap, clapclap, clapclapclap.
Only then did applause ring out, and I withdrew my killing intent.
As the applause echoing through the hall grew louder, I stood before the merchant group leader again.
“Merchant Group Leader, I have shown you my skill. Are you truly not going to offer me a drink?”
“...”
His bloodshot eyes showed that he wanted to kill me immediately.
Hah, this old man still hadn't come to his senses.
I lightly shook my wine cup and murmured in a low voice.
“If... this hadn't been a place for simply showing one's skills, Senior Jeong would've been struck by the blade, not the flat of the sword.”
“...If that had happened, the Taeul Sect would have been annihilated.”
“Ha ha. That is why you and I are treating each other with courtesy, Merchant Group Leader.”
“...”
After we exchanged looks for a while, the merchant group leader bit down hard on his lip, then slowly lifted the wine bottle and filled my cup.
I drained it in one gulp and said, “I look forward to continuing our business relationship in the future.”
Leaving the merchant group leader behind as his hands trembled, I walked out of the inner hall.
“...”
“...”
Everyone in the banquet hall was staring this way with blank eyes.
Hmm? The mood had been completely ruined.
“What is this? Why has the music stopped on such a joyous day? Who is in charge here? Tell the person in charge to come out!!!”
The musicians hurriedly resumed playing.
Yes, now it finally felt like a proper banquet.
Footnotes:
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